Anti-Blockade Rumor.–“Personne,”
the racy war correspondent of the Charleston Courier,
writing from Savannah on the 14th ult., in discussing the probable
duration of the war, incidentally gives the following:

Again,
it has been stated that Mercier, the French Minister at Washington, has
expressed the following that the blockade would be opened before the
first of May. Be that as it may; I attach no credit to the remark. We
have been deceived too often by [announcements] of this nature. But
there is a singular fact which coincides with the observation worthy of
notice.

If
I have been correctly informed, a certain law firm in Charleston has
recently drawn up a contract with certain French agents for the delivery
of several millions of dollars’ worth of cotton, rice and tobacco. The
first installment is to be paid, or the first delivery made, I am not
certain which, within a few weeks. How? If officially, the riddle is
solved. Otherwise the transaction politically amounts to nothing. A
considerable quantity of Sea Island cotton, such as is mostly used in
the manufacture of French fabrics, has already been bought by parties in
your market, whose character favors the idea that the purchase has been
made for that Government.

-----

France and Mexico.–Those
who imagined that the Emperor wearied of the expedition and was about to
withdraw from Mexico, are doomed to disappointment. By our latest
foreign advice (March 14th) we hear that preparations for carrying on
the war with renewed energy are being made. Gen. Forey has received
imperative orders to march on Puebla without seeking or making any more
excuses, and the Minister of Marine has just concluded a contract in
South America for the purchase of 2000 more mules for the French troops
in Mexico.

-----

A Polite Lieutenant
Misappreciated.–A Camp Bliss ( Mo.) correspondent of the
St. Louis Democrat relates the
following amusing incident:

Quite
an amusing incident happened to a lieutenant of the division a few days
ago. The said lieutenant is well educated and of immense politeness,
especially to ladies; and in his present banished situation, not having
many opportunities of paying his devoirs to the fair sex, is, of course, the more attentive when an
opportunity does occur.

This
much by way of preface, now to the story:

An
officer stopped at a house where the lieutenant referred to had taken
dinner the day before, and the lady of the house inquired if he knew
Lieutenant T.

“Yes,
madam; why do you ask?”

“What
kind of man is he?” asked the woman.

“One
of the politest men in the army, madam–a perfect gentleman,” was the
answer.

“Well,
I think he puts on a heap of style.”

“Madam,
I am surprised to hear that you don’t like Lieutenant T.; he is very
popular with the ladies–a general favorite, in fact.”

“Well,
I don’t like the way he talked to me.”

“There
must be a mistake somewhere, madam, what did he say?”

“Why,
I believe he tried to blackguard me.”

“Impossible!
Madam, I can’t believe for a moment that Lieutenant T. would do
anything of that kind; he is the pink of politeness.”

“I
don’t care if he is; he tried to blackguard me.”

“What
did he say?”

Here
a pert miss of sixteen, mostly feet and ankles, put in:

“Maw,
tell him what the man said; I don’t b’lieve he was tryin’ to
blackguard, but usn’s sich a fool.”

“Well,
if I must tell, after goin’ over all the big words he could think of,
he asked me, what was the State of
my nativity? And if that ain’t blackguardin’, I don’t know it
when I hear it.”

It
will be a long time before the lieutenant forgets the state of his
nativity.

Washington City.–The
Washington correspondent of the New York Herald,
under date of 19th ult., says:

A
reign of terror exists in Washington. Murders, assaults, garroting and
robberies are of daily occurrence. Yesterday Gen. Buford had his pocket
picked of nineteen hundred dollars while in an oyster saloon, the thief
escaping with his booty. Early this morning Lieut. Graham, of the 2d
Vermont cavalry, was found in his bed in a hotel with his throat cut.
Before a physician could be procured, he expired. It is thought he was
murdered.

In
consequence of the insufficiency of the police force, and the consequent
insecurity of the streets, those who are obliged to be out after dark go
armed. A lady was badly wounded by the accidental discharge of a pistol
dropped in a public saloon last night. Unless some immediate steps are
taken by the authorities to put a stop to this state of affairs, the
citizens will, in self defense, take the matter up. A vigilance
committee is already talked of.

-----

New York Harbor Defences.–Several
special committees appointed for the purpose, inspected the New York
harbor defences on the 26th ult. The condition of the fortifications
visited is thus stated by the New York Commercial:

The
new fortification now being erected at Sandy Hook was first examined.
The work is exceedingly massive, the walls being formed of granite six
and eight feet in thickness. The embrasures are faced with wrought iron,
and arranged in such a manner as to render it impossible for a shot or
the fragments of a shell to pass into the fort. A large number of 8 and
10 inch columbiads have recently been mounted here and manned by a
company of United States soldiers. It is thought that within a year,
with sufficient means and men, this fort could be rendered exceedingly
efficient.

The
works on Staten Island are very formidable. There will be 315 guns,
distributed as follows: Fort Richmond, 146; Fort Tomkins, 90; redoubt of
Fort Tomkins, 26; Battery Hudson, 50; Battery Morton, 9. During the past
year these batteries have been completed, and Fort Richmond needs but
little more work to finish it. All of these defences are garrisoned, and
everything was found by the company in excellent order. Fort Hamilton
mounts 45 heavy guns, and 73 of smaller size, besides a field battery on
the terrace in front of the fort opposite the main entrance. The redoubt
mounts 26 guns, some of which are now mounted.

Fort
Lafayette mounts 2o guns; Fort Gibson mounts 15 guns, 12 of which are
heavy. Fort Wood, located on Bedloe’s Island, mounts 77 guns of heavy
calibre; Fort Columbus, on Governor’s Island, mounts 105 guns, 87 of
which are of heavy calibre; Castle William mounts 78 guns, large and
small; South Battery mounts 13 guns, and guards the narrow channel
between the Southern extremity of the island and Brooklyn.

MONDAYAPRIL 13,
1863THE
DAILY RICHMOND EXAMINER (VA)

THE SIEGE OF VICKSBURG.The Enemy Baffled in All His
Attempts.

A
dispatch from Helena, the 3d instant, says that Quimby’s expedition
had been heard from, and it is stated that no progress had been made in
the reduction of Fort Greenwood.

“Our
forces were still in front of the enemy, and there had been considerable
skirmishing between the pickets on the shore.”

“The
rebels were improving the time by greatly increasing the strength of
their works. They have received and mounted more heavy guns, and are
well supplied with ammunition.

“It
is the opinion of the well informed officers that our gunboats will not
succeed in taking the place.

“The
country along the Tallahatchie is occupied by two regiments of rebel
cavalry and swarms with guerrillas.”

-----

The
Latest from Vicksburg.

Cincinnati, April 9.–A formidable battery is about completed
behind the extreme point of the levee opposite Vicksburg. It has been
wholly constructed by night, and will mount the heaviest Parrott guns,
and have range of the entire city.

All
reports of the attack on Haines’ Bluff are pure fabrications. Captain
Osband has just returned from the vicinity of Greenville with 3,000
bales of cotton, 1,000 head of cattle, and 100 mules.

St. Louis, April 9.–The Democrat’s
special dispatch from Young’s Point says that several transports laden
with troops, and General Ellet’s marine brigade, with one iron-clad,
started upstream this morning.

There
is no prospect for active operations before Vicksburg for some time.

The
new canal being cut three miles above here will be eight miles long and
empty into the Mississippi below Warrenton. Three dredges and the
African brigade are hard at work day and night. Farragut still holds the
river between Vicksburg and Port Hudson.

Telegraphic News.

Jackson, April 10.–Fifty-three Yankee gun-boats have gone up the
Coldwater. A three-gun iron-clad was abandoned and destroyed by the
Yankees at the mouth of the Amite.

A
special to the Appeal from Senatobia says: “Thirty boats and twelve gunboats have
gone up from Memphis to operate on the Cumberland. Heavy shipments are
being made on the Mobile and Ohio railroad. The Corinth merchants are
shipping their goods North, and the sutlers are selling their wagons. A
great strategic movement is afoot.”

Mobile, April 11.–An officer from the British ship of war off the
bar last night reports the capture of the city of Mexico by the French.

The
papers of Nashville acknowledge the sinking of transports and the
disabling of gunboats by our artillery.

Farragut
is again blockading Red River.

Chattanooga, April 10.–Nothing additional from the front today.
Parties through the lines report that Confederate prisoners were
liberated from their guard by the citizens of Mount Sterling, Indiana.

Charleston, April 10.–No change in the position of affairs. All
quiet.

The
reader will perceive in the summary of intelligence from the United
States that the story of the chaufferie of the criminal population of this city, commonly known
as the riot, was carried North by the paroled prisoners who went off the
next day, with every exaggeration and addition which their malice and
invention could suggest.1
This fact is of no real consequence, however disagreeable it may be to
those weak persons who are rendered unhappy by “what people will
say!” It is of little importance what enemies say to our disadvantage
so long as it is a falsehood. We know the truth ourselves, and the
country is able to abide it.

At
the same time it is impossible not to entertain a sentiment of fresh
indignation against the wretches who have taken advantage of their
country’s embarrassed situation to bring this scandal upon it. They
are now in the hands of the law. It would be improper to prejudge the
evidence. But while we shall carefully refrain from doing so, it is
perfectly legitimate to express the hope, if the evidence supports the
accusation on which they are imprisoned, that the heaviest penalties of
the law will be enforced without distinction, and without false mercy,
on every one of them.

Those
who have examined the sketches of these examinations before the Mayor
will have seen that so far from being in starvation, the males and
females engaged in this villainy were rioters because of their riotous
living; children of Belial, “flown with insolence and wine;” that
many of them were not only above want, but possessed of ample means to
engage, by large fees, the carrion crows of the bar to claw them from
the clutch of justice. Indeed, some of the accused have been able to
produce certificates of high character, &c., elsewhere. Let us hope
that the judges and juries by whom they must be tried will fix their
eyes only on the law and the testimony to their acts in the streets of
Richmond on the day of its disturbance. What the courts have to decide
is the credibility of the witnesses, the nature of the acts which they
witnessed, and the penalty, if any, affixed by the law of the land to
those acts.

If
they have been guilty of crimes, their punishment must follow, or this
community and the whole country will suffer for the crime of their
impunity. Their offense is new in the Southern States, and could not
have been committed here at all but for the general disorder attendant
on a war. Hence the community is not yet fully certain as to the proper
means of dealing with it. But it is a common crime in other countries;
and experience has proven that there are two ways of repressing it. One
if to seize the first opportunity to punish the criminals in the act, by
an unhesitating application of the public force. The other is to arrest
the perpetrators and bring them to justice in all its severity, without
the least indulgence or distinction, so that the example may deter
others. In Richmond the first method was not chosen. But the second
means of repression is still within reach. It is highly important to the
public safety that it should be sternly employed.

TUESDAYAPRIL 14, 1863THE
SPRINGFIELD REPUBLICAN (MA)

The Assault Upon Fort Sumter.Further Particulars.

The
affair off Charleston is looked upon at Washington as a repulse, but not
a disaster. It is believed the fleet will hold the position it occupies
within the bar, and renew the attack until Sumter and the side batteries
are silenced, and some means is found for removing the obstructions in
the channel so that the fleet can pass up to attack the city. The
substantial invulnerability of the Ericsson monitors is considered
established. They were exposed for hours to the concentrated fire of the
strongest batteries of English Whitworth and Blakely guns, and were not
damaged in any serious degree. The Keokuk’s
armor was thin, and she was considered the weakest of the iron-clads,
and her sides were five feet above the surface of the water, while the
monitors exposed as many inches, and the Keokuk
ventured nearer Fort Sumter than any other vessel of the fleet. From the
various newspaper correspondence we glean a few additional particulars
of the affair:

The
Plan of Attack.

The
official order was to pass the batteries on Morris island without
returning their fire, and pass inside of Fort Sumter, and devote
themselves to bombarding Fort Sumter at a distance of from six to eight
hundred yards. The line of battle was formed in the following order: The
Weehawken, Capt. J. Rodgers;
the Passaic, Capt. Percival
Drayton; the Montauk,
Commander J. L. Worden; the Patapsco,
Commander D. Ammon; the Ironsides,
Commander T. Turner, Com. Dupont’s flagship; the Catskill,
Commander G. W. Rodgers; the Nantucket,
Commander D. McN. Fairfax; the Nahant,
Commander J. Downs; the Keokuk,
Commander A. C. Rhind. A squadron of reserve, consisting of the Canandaigua,
Housatonic, Huron, Unadilla,
and Wissahickon, was to form outside of the bar prepared to come, if
necessary, to the support of the ironclads.

The
Engagement.

At
2 o’clock the head of the line was in motion, the rest following. The
batteries on Morris Island did not open fire on the fleet at all, and
the enemy made no fire until the fleet had reached a position between
Forts Sumter and Moultrie, when a terrific broadside came from the
barbette guns of Sumter. At the same time the batteries on Cumming’s
Point and Sullivan’s Island opened, and the iron ships were exposed to
a concentric fire from five different points, unparalleled in the
history of warfare. The fleet found it impossible to pass up beyond Fort
Sumter and assume to appointed place, owing to obstructions which
extended across the entire channel from Sumter to Moultrie, while above
these, near the middle ground, were three other rows of piles, and above
these three rebel iron-clads. The fleet was thus compelled to sustain
this terrific fire, and nobly it did so, for thirty minutes. During that
time not less than thirty-five hundred shots were fired by the enemy,
one hundred and sixty being counted in a single minute. At the end of
this time five of the nine iron clads were found to be more or less
disabled, and at 4 o’clock the flagship signaled to retire.

The
iron clads received each from twenty to ninety shots. The Keokuk
was the worst used up, receiving several shots below and above the water
line. The other four, though in reality but slightly injured, were yet
rendered temporarily unfit for use. The obstructions encountered
consisted of floating logs with torpedoes attached, and networks of
cables held perpendicularly in eh water by weights. The Patapsco
got foul of one of them, and could not make her screw work for some
fifteen minutes, but finally got clear. A torpedo exploded close to the
bow of the Weehawken, without,
however, doing any damage. The vessels all steering heavily, the narrow
passages through the line of obstructions could not be breached.

The
Patapsco had her 200-pounder
Parrott gun disabled by its own recoil early in the action. The turret
of the Passaic was bent in and
cramped her 11-inch gun so as to prevent its working. Shortly afterward,
her turret stopped revolving, and she lost all offensive power. The Ironsides
had, meantime, vainly struggled to come closer to Fort Sumter. The rebel
gunners finding her a fixed mark, plied her freely with shot and shell.
Her position was such that she could not bring her broadsides to bear
until about four o’clock, when she got an opportunity to deliver her
fire at Fort Moultrie. This was the only offensive demonstration made by
her during the action.

Results.

The
Monitors fired altogether 150 rounds. Eleven large holes, apparently
running through the walls, some of which were about three feet wide,
were made on the east face of Fort Sumter, showing that our fire was not
altogether ineffectual.

It
was the intention of the admiral to renew the attack on the next day,
but when the reports of the commanders of the iron-clads were received,
showing that two, the Keokuk and Passaic, were
fully, and three, the Patapsco,
Nantucket and Nahant, were partially, disabled, the admiral determined to desist
from a continuance. In this decision he was sustained by the unanimous
opinion of the commanders of all the iron-clads.

While
the fight was going on, on the 7th, a brigade of Gen. Ferry’s division
worked its way up Folly Island, established itself closely to the beach
and opened communication with the fleet. No portion of the land force
got nearer to the point of attack, and all were obliged to play the part
of ear-witnesses.2
A rumor was in circulation, both at Port Royal and at Charleston bar,
that our troops were rapidly gaining the rear of the city of Charleston.

WEDNESDAYAPRIL 15, 1863THE
CONSTITUTION (CT)

British
Aid Solicited.

The
fact is established beyond controversy that the leaders of the
democratic party in the northern states have been in secret
communication with the British Government for the purpose of inducing
that Government to interfere in favor of the rebellion. Lord Lyons
himself is the witness against them. Without mentioning names he avers
that leading politicians of that party were constantly approaching him
with representations of the readiness of the people to accept the
mediation of England, and with urgent entreaties that he would use his
influence in favor of interference. They had been plotting in secret,
and hoped that their traitorous endeavors would remain a profound secret
until their plans should be accomplished. But Lord Lyons was under no
obligation to keep their secret or hide their treachery. In his
published correspondence with Lord Russell he has revealed the fact that
we have men among us who are base enough to copy the conduct of Benedict
Arnold, and betray the Government into the hands of England!

The
exposure of the plot has fallen like a bomb shell among the democratic
leaders. They see that an indignant people will [view] the authors of it
with undying contempt. Even Fernando Wood was so much disturbed that he
hastened to deny having himself had any “collusion” with the British
minister. As his reputation for truth and veracity is none of the best,
his denial will only go to show that he is ashamed of the transactions
and afraid of the consequences. But whatever denials he and other
leaders of that party may make, the fact is established by the official
statements of Lord Lyons, and they cannot controvert it.

The
men who tried to give this State over to Thomas H. Seymour at the late
election were acting, as it now appears, in the interest of England. The
leaders of the democratic party were humbling themselves at the feet of
the British Minister, and hoping to procure the aid of British influence
and perhaps of British bayonets! And it is a remarkable and startling
fact that these minions of England succeeded in enlisting on their side
the almost unanimous vote of the Irishmen
of Connecticut!

-----

Rev. John Orcutt acknowledges
the authorship of the pro-slavery tract entitled “Three Grand
Mistakes.” That tract was circulated as an election document in the
interest of Thomas H. Seymour. In this city it was placed in the church
pews for Sunday reading. Now that Seymour has been defeated, and the
copperheads defunct, Mr. Orcutt finds himself in an unpleasant position.
He sees what everybody else sees, that hereafter his appeals in behalf
of the Colonization Society must be made to those who believe with him
that southern slavery is a Christian institution.

-----

Greenbacks.–The
copperheads say that the splendid result of the 5th of April was
produced through the plentiful use of greenbacks in the state. The
charge is any thing but complimentary to their own party, for it implies
that democrats sold their votes!

“Slavery Not a Divine
Institution.”–This is the title of a pamphlet lately
published in this city, the object of which is to prove precisely what
the title asserts. It is written by a gentleman whose opinions on this
or any other question to be decided by the precepts of the Bible are not
easily set aside. He demonstrates in a clear and logical manner the
barbarism of southern slavery, and shows that it can have no affinity
whatever with the spirit of the Christian religion. The pamphlet is for
general distribution.

-----

Recently,
Secretary Chase of the Treasury Department, found upon a desk in his
office what at first appeared to be a picture of an “infernal
machine,” but which on further examination proved to be a drawing of
an ingenious invention for turning gold eagles into “greenbacks,”
with the Secretary himself operating it, and slowly feeding itwith “yellow boys” at one end, while government currency came
out at the other end, flying about like the leaves of autumn. While he
was examining it, the President came in, as he daily does for
consultation. Mr. Chase handed him the drawing, and as the roguish eye
of our Chief Magistrate recognized the likeness of the Secretary, he
exclaimed–

“Capital
joke, isn’t it, Mr. Chase?”

“A
joke,” said the irate financier, “I’d give a thousand dollars to
know who left it here.”

“Oh,
no,” responded Mr. Lincoln, “you would hardly do that.”

“Yes,
I would,” asserted the Secretary.

“Would
you, though?” inquired the President with that deliberate manner that
characterizes him when he is really in earnest, “Well, which
end wouldyou pay from?”

-----

Miscellaneous.

“You’ve
destroyed my peace of mind, Betsy,” said a desponding lover to a
truant lass. “It can’t do you much harm, John, for ‘twas an
amazing small piece you had
any way,” was the quick reply.

“Remember,
madam, that you are the weaker vessel,” said an irate husband.
“Exactly!” said the lady,” but do not forget that the weaker
vessel may have the strongest spirit in it.”

When
George Stephenson, the celebrated Scotch engineer, had completed his
mode of a locomotive, he presented himself before the British
Parliament, and asked for the attention and support of that body. The
grave M.P.’s looked sneeringly at his invention, said: “So you have
made a carriage to run only on steam, have you?” “Yes, my lords.”
“And you expect your carriage to run on parallel rails, so that it
cannot get off, do you?” “Yes, my lords.” “Well, now, Mr.
Stephenson, let us show you how absurd your claim is. Suppose that when
your carriage is running upon these rails at a rate of twenty or thirty
miles an hour–if you are extravagant enough to suppose such a
thing–a cow should get in the way? You can’t turn out for her–what
then?” “Then ‘twill be bad for the cow, my lords!”

A
very intelligent definition of transcendentalism is given by one who is,
we think, a transcendentalist. He says: “Transcendentalism is two
holes in a sand-bank–a storm washes away the sand-bank and leaves the
holes.”

THURSDAYAPRIL 16,
1863THE
ST. ALBANS DAILY MESSENGER (VT)

A
Genuine White Slave.

The
following account of a genuine white man being held as a slave, I have
from the most authentic sources: A certain planter’s daughter in
Mississippi was seduced. To hide her shame she gave her child, a girl,
at its birth to a slave woman, along with money, to bring up as her own.
The child lived and became the mistress of the planter’s son, who
succeeded to the estate. She had by him five children, and among them
the man I refer to, Charles Grayson. This was in Calhoun county,
Mississippi, three miles from Paris. The father was at one time clerk of
the court. At six years [of] age Charles was sold to William Steen in
the neighborhood, and about this time his parentage was told to him by
his mother. He ran away, was captured, and treated with great harshness.
He was made to do more work than the other slaves. The object was to
break him down. He proved to be strong and able to bear all the burdens
put upon him.

On
Dec. 17, 1862, the 3d Michigan cavalry came upon into the vicinity.
Grayson then took a horse and rode into their lines. He took a good
horse, so as to ride faster. He was then employed as a cook for the
non-commissioned officers of company F, Capt. Theodore Reese. Becoming
anxious about his future condition, he proposed to go North. The above
named officer, the lieutenant-colonel G. Rogers, and several substantial
citizens of Jackson, Tenn., as well as a general high in command,
assisted him to carry out his plan; and a few days ago he passed through
this place on his way to Cass county, Michigan. He has been a slave for
17 years, is now 28 years of age. Has straight, light hair, fair blue
eyes, a sandy beard, and evidently is a white man, with no drop of black
blood in his veins. He has a singular appearance. He is totally
ignorant. He scarcely knows what freedom is. He knows little more than
that he is a white man. A Negro slave has a subdued, and yet, at times,
a gay air. On the contrary, Charles Grayson is continually abject and
gloomy. He hardly knew how to thank the friends who helped him to get
his tickets; he seemed almost cold to the friend, a native of Boston,
who had done most. This the result of long oppression, which has made
him suspicious of every human being. In many respects his case resembles
that of Casper Hauser.–Cairo
correspondence of N. Y. Tribune.3

The
citizens of Vicksburg have, in many places, dug holes into which they
can retreat during a bombardment. The high cliffs render it an easy
matter.

One of Daniel Webster’s Best.–The
late Kendall O. Peabody of Franklin was accustomed to tell the following,
which we have never seen in print. Mr. Webster and Henry Clay were standing
on the steps of one of the hotels in Washington, and Mr. Peabody was close
by and heard what was said. A drove of jack asses was passing by, and Mr.
Clay thought it a good opportunity to get a joke upon Mr. Webster. He patted
Mr. Webster on the shoulder, pointed to the long-eared donkeys, and said:
“Mr. Webster, there are some of your Northern constituents.” “Yes,”
replied the great statesman, “ going South to teach school.”–Worcester
Transcript.

-----

Col.
Frederick Hecker, the distinguished German patriot, was urged for a
Brigadier Generalship by some Illinois members of Congress, but when Hecker
learned of it he withdrew his name, saying he did not want the epaulettes
till he had earned them.

-----

The
Herald’s special dispatch from
head quarters Army of the Potomac, April 12th, says “a refugee who left
Richmond last Thursday, has arrived here. The bread riot in that city was
witnessed by him and caused the greatest consternation among the
authorities. The women were heads of families of the working classes, and
were actually starving. A repetition of the demonstration is feared and
every precaution is being taken to avert it. The effect on the troops is
very demoralizing, the men being very clamorous, and demanding that their
families should be fed.

-----

An
officer of one of our steamers in pursuit of Alabama
writes from Nassau, N. P., that plenty of supplies from that port reach the
rebels; ten or twelve steamers run constantly, and will run till we have
some vessel that has speed. The Tioga
chased three steamers whose cargoes were worth a million dollars, but they
were too near land to catch. The Tioga
has bagged five or six of the blockade runners. Hard coal is sent to Nassau
from the United States to supply the rebel steamers. Without it they could
not make as great speed and would be caught.4

FRIDAYAPRIL 17,
1863THE
HARTFORD DAILY COURANT (CT)

A Melancholy Record.–The
Portland Advertiser says that the steamer North American which arrived at that port last Sunday evening from
Liverpool, brings seventeen American captains of merchantmen. Eleven of
these captains sold their ships abroad, on account of the immense war
risks, and no demand for freights under the hazard of shipments in
American bottom; four of these captains had their ships captured and
burnt by the confederate cruiser Alabama; two remaining captains lost
their ships at sea. The Advertiser
also learns that another steamer of like capabilities with the Alabama
is already prepared to leave an English port in the same manner as the Alabama
did, and for the same service of depredating upon American commerce, and
that two more “of the same sort” are about ready to be launched,
destined for the same service.

-----

The
New York correspondent of the Boston Journal
says:

“Quite
a violent opposition has lately sprung up at Five Points and other
similar localities about the sending of vagrant and poor children from
the city to homes in the country. The Catholic Priest has taken quite an
active part. Some legal proceedings have been had to put a stop to
sending these little ones away. Mr. Van Meter’s Home for Little
Wanderers has been the object of especial opposition. His Home has been
attacked–violence offered to children on their way to the Home–and
rude men have been stationed at the corner of the street to turn them
aside. He had been wantonly attacked himself, and a threatened lawsuit
is now hanging over his head. While these children to the number of1000 were in want, ragged, degraded, in hovels and dens of crime,
running loose, running into sin, thievery and swearing, no one was
alarmed and no one interfered. But as soon as someone cared for
them–took them from degradation–cleaned, fed, clothed, educated
them, and put them on the way to be useful, then an outcry is raised and
an attempt is made to break up the institution. Merchants and others who
have no special interest in the school and home have united to protect
Mr. Van Meter, and the General Superintendent has detached a special
police force to protect the Mission in its work.”

-----

Later
advices, received by the Arago
from the iron-clad fleet, more than confirm the faith of Government
officials in the merits of the Monitors. It is understood that the most
serious injuries were repaired by noon of the day following the fight,
and that the real defects of the boats can be easily remedied.

-----

Jefferson
Davis has issued an address to the people of the Southern confederacy,
urging them to devote their agricultural labor to the production of
food. He says that although the soldiers are on half rations of meat
there is plenty of it in the confederacy, but that a difficulty exists
in its transportation, which is now about to be remedied.

How Fortunes are Made and Lost in
War.–The New York Journal
of Commerce gives the following instances of the hazard of
mercantile transaction during war times. An invoice of 600 bales of
cotton was consigned to this market on English account. It was sold at
93 cents per pound, and the seller at once engaged his exchange for
remittance. Before the transactions were concluded, the turn came, and both cotton and exchange came down. The buyer of the
cotton was not able to take it, but the buyer of the exchange was
compelled to fulfill his agreement, so that he was compelled to pay
$102,000 on his part of the transaction while the cotton still remained
unsold! Take another instance: A celebrated manufacturer bought of a
very clever speculator 800 bales of cotton for forward delivery at a
high price, say 88 cents. Cotton went down, down, down every day, and
the manufacturer warms into a panic. So he settles his contract by
paying over to his fortunate operator a check for $84,000.

-----

Valuable Aid from the Contrabands.–The
Sunflower River expedition was greatly helped and perhaps saved from
destruction by the intelligent services of the Negro slaves in that
region, who in every instance did everything they could to promote its
success. Admiral Porter’s guide was a contraband. He took dispatches
through the rebel lines to Gen. Sherman, which enabled that officer to
avert the capture of the fleet by the enemy–a disaster that was at one
time imminent. When the expedition first arrived in their midst, a
scouting party came suddenly upon a house which belonged to the Sheriff
of the country. He ordered his old servant to get his horse, as the
Yankees were coming. “Couldn’t think of it, wouldn’t do it for a
thousand dollars. I’m a Union man now, massa.” The horse was not
got, but the Sheriff was. The first knowledge that the enemy had come
down Deer Creek in a steamer was from a contraband.

-----

The
way honest and intelligent merchants in England look at the new
confederate loan, is clearly shown in the following letter from a member
of an eminent mercantile house in Liverpool to his correspondent in this
country. Some people are making money out of the loan abroad, and a good
many more are getting very badly bitten:

Liverpool,
March 25, 1863.

The
confederate loan is down to nearly par to-day. Many look upon it as the
greatest swindle the world has seen since the South Sea Bubble.5
I hope it will go to its deserts. It is not worth sixpence. It is likely
that the knowing ones, having loaned to the confederates, are taking
this means to get out before the grand smash comes. I am told on good
authority that the French house had already loaned largely to the
confederates, and that they got the loan at fifty-three per cent. They
put it down before others at seventy-five per cent, and then it was
brought out at ninety, and hurried through in a few days, until
outsiders thought it a good catch, and took the bait.”

SATURDAYAPRIL 18, 1863PORTLAND
DAILY ADVERTISER (ME)

The
Quality of Our Soldiers.Comparison
Between Native and Foreign, City and Country Born.

From
a paper recently read before the Geographical and Statistical Society,
by Dr. Thomson, late State Examining Surgeon at the New York Recruiting
Depot, on the “Physique of Different Nationalities, as ascertained by
Inspection of Government Recruits,” we take the following interesting
statements:

From
the middle of July to the 1st of October, 8,700 recruits presented
themselves to me to be inspected. Of this whole number 4,538 were
Americans, 1694 were Irish, 1453 were Germans, 345 English or Scotch,
135 French, and 545 belonged to twenty-six other nations. From this it
will be seen that the native Americans exceed by about a hundred the sum
total of all other nationalities. The proportion of foreigners is
naturally greater in recruits from New York than from any other city
perhaps in the country; and these figures, therefore, confirm the
estimates already made, which show that a great majority of the army is
composed of American-born recruits. Of the Americans, 2038 were from the
country districts directly, and 2,500 were recruited from the city and
Brooklyn.

The
first subject which naturally presented itself was the bodily status and
general physical appearance of the various recruits. In stature, the
American-born ranked the highest, the English next, the Irish next, the
Germans, and the French last. But I could not fail to be forcibly
impressed by the marked alteration which has taken place in both the
great branches of the population of Europe, the Celt and the German,
from the descriptions given us by the ancient historians of the
appearance of their barbarian forefathers. This is a subject of great
importance as an evidence of the dependence of bodily conformation, not
so much on race as on the modes and conditions of life. So powerful has
been this influence, that it is almost impossible to recognize the Celt
of Caesar, of Strabo, and of Diodorus, or the Teuton of Tacitus and
Amnianus, as they appeared in battle array against the Roman legions,
with recruits of the same stock enlisting for the American army.

Dr.
Thomson then remarked upon the changes which have occurred in the modern
races of men as compared with the same races sixteen centuries ago,
contending that the altered characteristics are simply illustrations of
the adaptability of the human physique to human habits and wants. He
continued:

We
now come to the actual physical conformation of the various
nationalities, as deduced from my observations. I found it at first
somewhat difficult to lay down merely different rules of classification,
and I therefore adopted a very general division into four classes, which
were termed prime, good, indifferent and bad. Under the head prime, I
included, first, those who had a well-proportioned osseous system, (the
groundwork of the personal figure,) as shown by the shape of the skull,
the bones of the thorax and of the joints, the shape of feet and hands,
and the condition of the ligaments were especially noted. Secondly came
a good development of the muscular system, especially those of the lower
extremities, as the most reliable indication of the vigor of spinal
nutrition. Under the term good were classed those who were then
apparently healthy and strong, with more especially a good muscular
development, but who did not equal the prime in the development of the
osseous system, from lack of lateral symmetry, bow legs, large joints,
flat feet, &c. Under the head of indifferent might be found good
forms and tolerable muscular development, but who had tendencies to
constitutional diseases, as well as a good many who may have had good
constitutions originally, but had become deteriorated from various
causes. Under the head of bad were such as never had been good, nor ever
would be so, from an originally vicious conformation.

The
result of these observations are the following:

Of
American-born recruits 47.5 per cent had a prime physique; the Irish 35
per cent, and the Germans 40.,75 per cent.

The
percentage of good physique was Americans 36, Irish 38, Germans 38.5

From
this it will be perceived that the Americans show the highest rate of
prime physique, the Germans next, and the Irish last. Of good, the Irish
and Germans are nearly equal, and four per cent more than the Americans,
but this is owing to the excess of the latter in prime.

Of
indifferent the Irish are one-half higher than the Germans, which last
are 5½ per cent higher than the Americans. Of the bad, the Irish are
more than double the Americans and Germans, who in this respect stand
alike.

So
far, therefore, these seem favorable to the American born; but there are
several considerations to be taken into account, which will, to a
certain extent, modify the inferences to be drawn from them. In the
first place, the Americans were largely from classes of society who from
youth have been able to command better facilities in food, clothing and
shelter than the classes from which the immigrant population is derived.
What an influence this must exert on physical development is sadly
illustrated by the mortality returns o this city, which show that though
the American population is not exceeded by the foreign, yet that seven
children of foreign-born parents die in a year to one American child.

Besides,
more than half the Americans were born and reared in country districts,
and the difference which this fact causes may be shown by comparing
among them the city and country recruits. Thus the proportion of prime
among city Americans was 42 per cent, country 58 per cent; of good, city
40 per cent, country 29 per cent; of indifferent, city 14 per cent,
country 12 per cent; of bad, city 4 per cent, country 1 per cent.
Another reason why the Irish are double the Americans in bad physique
seemed to be that they were often recruited, for several Irish
regiments, almost exclusively from the Sixth ward, one of the most
active recruiting stations being the Tombs prison itself, and such
specimens as occasionally presented themselves to our eyes and noses
from those regions could scarcely be surpassed by Macbeth's witches
themselves.

Still,
these considerations do not affect the actual standing of the American
recruits, for whatever the causes may be that have aided them, I feel
safe in voting their physical development as of the highest order, and
have seen specimens of the armies of nearly all European, as well as
eastern nations. With the exception of a general loss of fat, I do not
believe that there is another race that can show a larger proportion in
the average population of excellent osseous and muscular development.
This I would ascribe almost wholly to the widely diffused blessings of
meat and drink, and to the comforts of life possessed by nearly all.
Least of all would I set down to the score of race, for it is doubtful
if there is such a thing as an unmixed race in America. No sooner does
one nationality reach this shore, where all the political, social and
religious separations of the Old World fail to survive the sea voyage,
than it rapidly merges into another, and all the race elements of Europe
soon become utterly dissolved in a well stirred mixture of Anglo-Saxons,
Hollanders, Celts, Germans and Norwegians.

-----

The
taking of a fortified city is the most difficult of all the achievements
of war. The greatest Conquerors in history have been compelled to spend
months and years in reducing a town of a few thousand inhabitants.
Gibraltar is a proverb of impregnability. It took the Allies sixteen
months to reduce Sebastopol. The fleets and armies of Victor Emanuel
battered the walls of Gaeta for five months before they found admission.
An English fleet set out to capture Kronstadt and found the obstacles so
insuperable that it returned without firing a gun. But Sebastopol, Gaeta
and Kronstadt never had such artillery as Charleston; and yet we are
indignant because Com. Dupont did not capture it in an afternoon! Let us
try to be reasonable.–Albany
Journal.

1 The
poor typography of the italicized foreign word makes it appear to be echauferie,
which does not seem to mean anything in French. Assuming an incorrect
spelling or type, chaufferie “boiler room,” seems the word
that was intended.

2
Yes, that’s what it says:
“ear-witnesses.” Why not?

3
The story of Kaspar Hauser is
similar only in that he appeared suddenly in Germany in 1828 from
unknown origins. Until his death in 1833, his identity was much in
dispute, with people claiming

4
The article suggests that coal is
being sent from the North to facilitate blockade running (and turn a
profit for investors). The reference to “hard coal” means anthracite
coal from Pennsylvania. Anthracite is harder in that it is a metamorphic
rock rather than sedimentary, which describes all other types of coal.
It therefore burns hotter, and a hotter fire means more energy with
which to boil water and make steam to power the ship’s engines.
Another advantage is that anthracite burns without producing smoke. The
more common coal available in the South is bituminous, which, because
bitumen is akin to tar, burns with a brown smoke.